


The Road Ahead

by CrescentViolett



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate World, Arrows, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Crying, Eventual Happy Ending, Gen, Gore, Hope, Hopeful Ending, Inside One's Head, Mental Breakdown, Psychological Horror, Psychological Torture, Suicidal Thoughts, Unidentified Creature
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrescentViolett/pseuds/CrescentViolett
Summary: During one of Edelgard's many breakdowns, she finds herself face to face with the being that made her life hell, but has also saved her life more times than she can count.As she's struck down by another failure in her life, she gives up; but the being decides that, no, she cant give up. She has set her life goal and she must complete it.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12
Collections: Calamity's Advent





	The Road Ahead

**Author's Note:**

> Made this piece for Calamity's Advant! Amazing mods and creators made this horror fic one of the largest I participated in: 350 pages of anything disturbing you could think of.  
> Check out the zine here: https://twitter.com/InvincibleZine/status/1290290668787695616

Her boots echoed against the floor as Edelgard stood up, bouncing off invisible walls all around her, but none she would ever be able to lean on.

The only light that guided her was the road she was following now; one wrong step and she knew she would fall. To what, she didn't know - maybe it would be an endless fall or maybe the ground would hug her so tight she couldn't move on any more.

It was the only path she could take now. The branching had stopped long ago, the only thing she could do now is quit.

But why? After walking this road for so long it was almost familiar to her, why would she quit now?

Edelgard took a large breath and stepped forward, the first one she had done in days. She could feel her body ache in protest, wanting nothing more than to slump back down and rest on the glowing steps - but days like these were the ones she had to overcome.

Wounds both deep and shallow made their way to the front of her mind. Cuts and stabs from days prior had still not healed, and the wounds were almost breaking open again; the pain was becoming unbearable, but she knew that they were temporary.

These wounds would fade, just like the days spend agonising over them.

And as if her body read her thoughts she could almost feel the holes closing themselves up, and the scars fading to the same colour of her skin.

The lights became elevated in the distance, as if the road was finally going up, going to a higher level.

Joy spread throughout her body, each step becoming lighter as she slowly began to forget about the hurt that would hold her down on so many days before. Edelgard felt the blood pumping through her veins, muscles she didn't know she had tightening and her legs wanting to run along the lighted steps. A first step, a second, each time gaining just the slightest bit more momentum.

She could see the stairs clearly now, soon she would be able to ascend it to a higher level; maybe she could even see the end of the road that she had been walking for so long now.

A loud thwack sound filled the air around her, echoing inside her ears as every hair on her body started pointing upright. Her body became stiff, pressing against the ground so heavy she was surprised it didn't break under the pressure of her boots.

Then, she felt it. Iron as sharp as the thorns of roses pierced through her back, ripping open her flesh all the way through. Her hands rose up from below, caressing her chest until her index finger caught the head of the arrow, a light crimson red trickling from the tiniest prick in her finger.

Edelgard felt herself falling on her knees, her heart beginning to pound even harder than before. Pure adrenaline shot through her and fuelled her chest, her veins, anything it could reach.

Breathing became harder as her vision blackened for a moment. Her lungs couldn't get enough oxygen, her heart couldn't pump the blood through her body. She could hear the cracks of wood coming from inside her, like a child repeatedly jumping on a stick until it would break and felt her heart resisting against her what she first thought was her ribs.

As the cracks became louder however, she ran her hand across her chest, feeling the tip of the arrow leaning on the left side of her body. Her vision blackened once more and she fell to her hands, the injuries of the past opening up as she realised the arrow had almost struck her heart.

Deep scarlet red filled her clothes, rapidly turning everything around her into a pool of redness. The arrow tip let drops of blood spill on the floor, perfect little circles on bright stones.

Coldness ingrained itself into her hands, creeping up her arm while her body became feverishly hot.

Even the scars that had closed long ago began to open themselves up, as if someone was cutting open her stitches with a rusty knife, hurting her more than their initial pain.

Tears finally flooded over her eyes and onto the ground, salt mixing with metal that created an almost unreal image.

The intakes of her breath were ragged, the poison of the past racing through her body to silence her ever-pounding heart.

"I give up."

The words rang in her head, despite only being a whisper that could've been swept away by the tiniest breeze. Never had she said those words before, never had they even crossed her mind.

But now… she just couldn't take it anymore.

A scoff entered her ears. "You give up?"

A figure stood before her, proud and confident, looking down at her miserable self.

Edelgard slowly tilted her head up, despite already knowing who it was. A person without eyes, with big grinning teeth and skin as black as coal looked directly at her.

They had a spear resting against their chest as they held it loosely in one hand, the end big and sharp, capable of making the deepest cuts she could think of. They were the only wounds that had not opened themselves; the ones that could kill her the fastest had remained shut.

"Are you here to finish it?"

"Oh darling please, I would never," they said as they bended down, breaking the arrow with their free hand in one swift motion, causing her to scream out in pain for the first time. She clutched one hand against her chest as her body calmed down from the sudden movement.

"Why not?" Breaths became more shallow as she attempted to raise up, head held high towards them. "It wouldn't be the first time you tried." She slumped down to her knees in the effort, sitting defeated before them in an almost surrendering manner.

"You forget," they said as they leaned down, "That I'm a part of you. If you die, I go with you. I'm here to make your life hard, not to end it."

They put their hand over her chest, gripping the tip tightly and before she realised they had already ripped it out, blood spilling over their hands with ease as they held it in front of them.

They made a 'hmm' sound as they examined it, twisting it between their thumbs before they smiled, sharp teeth bared. "It's not poisonous, you'll live."

"I don't want to."

An awful laugh erupted from their throat, bending over to get so close to her face she could feel their breath. It was uneven, almost as shallow as her own before they started talking, their loud boasting voice hiding any form of weakness. "Well darling, that's too bad. I'm not really in the mood to die, so you'll have to live on for the both of us." They raised up, turned around and walked a few steps forward on the bright stones, gripping their spear tightly before turning and raising it to her throat.

"If you don't survive this, I will forever let you stay on the brink of death." They prodded the tip against her chest, her clothes absorbing any damage they could've done with that minuscule action. "And trust me, that's far worse than whatever you're feeling right now."

They went on again, almost reaching the stairs before standing still. Drawing loud breaths they waited, as if they had to calm down from something. She could feel herself doing the same thing, even easing out the same way they did. She heard a loud sigh before they spoke again, their words only a whisper.

"You… you can do it, y'know? Small steps are still steps, and even if these roads tend to be longer than you'd expect - harder than you could've ever imagined - just keep going forward."

With that they took a step sideways, disappearing into the blackness that surrounded her almost the same way as they had come.

Edelgard had calmed down, her breathing now steady. And despite her body screaming out in pain, it also yelled at her, bursting with the same energy she had felt before; the same energy she had when starting this journey on her own.

She raised herself up, and took one small step forward as she looked up to the road ahead of her.

**Author's Note:**

> Just for anyone who likes to know what the being is: it's the personification of intrusive and self-harming thoughts. As it is part of her body, it doesn't want to die, but at the same time it's the being that could kill her the easiest if she let it.  
> (Also sorry but no, this will stay a oneshot, because I like my sanity)


End file.
